Holy Ground
by you bet giraffe
Summary: Yeah, you skip the conversation when you already know. / coffeeshop!au. All human. Tinkerbell and Hook. Taylor Swift song. For Lizziebae.
1. (right there where we stood)

**Author's Note:  
Disclaimer: An all-human AU using J. M. Barrie's characters.**

Written for Lizziebee (TheNextFolchart). I was looking through my docs and found this thing I meant to give you a few months ago. *insert server girl emoji* I have a few more chapters (and by that, I mean one-and-a-half) if you want this fic continued. But you know me – continued doesn't necessarily mean I'll end up completing the story...

PS: Kinda sorta maybe inspired by the Taylor Swift song of the same name. Tbh, I couldn't pass up the pun. And she mentioned coffee in the lyrics so I guess it fits. :)

23 November 2014. Word Count: 731

**It all happened so quickly.**

* * *

**Holy Ground**

[-]

It all happened so quickly. One minute Tinkerbell was waiting patiently in line at Starbucks for her weekly fix of a skinny-tall-peppermint-white-chocolate-mocha-no-whipped-cream-please but then the next minute she found herself pushed off balance. She toppled over like a domino, and with each passing second, the floor came closer to making a casual acquaintance with her face.

"Oh, shit, didn't even see you there!"

At the last millisecond possible, the person who had spoken snagged her by the waist before she hit the ground. Heart pounding and completely disoriented, Tinkerbell could only cling onto the stranger's black leather jacket and stare dumbstruck up at him.

"Sorry about that," he smiled, eyes bashfully lowered. His sinfully long eyelashes brushed the top of his angular cheekbones.

"You should be," Tinkerbell responded without realising she had spoken aloud.

He smirked and set her back on her feet. "Lost my footing for a moment. It's icy out there." His dark eyes glanced at Tinkerbell's outfit as he gave her a shameless once-over. "You gonna be warm enough, doll?"

Tinkerbell narrowed her eyes and fought the urge to fidget with the hem of her fugly Christmas sweater. Of _course_ he would be the chauvinistic type of guy looking to pick up single girls in a coffeehouse.

"Piss off," she frowned and deliberately turned away from the stranger as she made a grand show of staring at the Starbucks menu (which she had memorised by now from her many visits here, though _he_ didn't need to know that).

In her peripheral vision, she saw him shrug. "Sorry for caring, doll." He resumed his place in line a few people in front of her.

She grit her teeth at his degrading nickname – she wasn't a helpless little _doll_, God damn it – but didn't engage in an argument because she hated to make a scene even more than being called a pet name by a stranger. Tinkerbell refused to let her eyes glare daggers at his back for the rest of the time she had to spend waiting in line. Christmas was right around the corner; for the sake of holiday spirit and good cheer, she could give him the benefit of the doubt.

(Her left eye was twitching and she hadn't blinked in two minutes but it was all okay because she hadn't looked in his direction even once.)

After a few moments, Tinkerbell realised the line hadn't moved a single centimetre in quite some time. She stood on her tiptoes and tried to see who the git was that was holding up the line. She was rewarded with the glimpse of a black jacket at the front of the crowd. _Figures_, Tinkerbell huffed in her mind.

It felt like the glaciers had enough time to re-freeze and then thaw by the time Mr. Rude-and-Inconsiderate had finished placing his order and moved to the queue of people waiting to pick up their drinks. Tinkerbell shifted her weight from foot to the other as she continuously checked her wristwatch. She was going to be cutting it close this morning; her work shift started in ten minutes.

She had six minutes left by the time it was her turn to order. Thankfully the barista, a kind elderly woman who told the regular patrons to call her Nana, had Tinkerbell's usual winter drink memorised.

"Thank you so much, Nana," Tinkerbell said with a smile as Nana rung up her drink order. She reached into the back pocket of her black cigarette pants for her wallet but came up short. "I – er –" she stammered out. Tinkerbell stared at her empty hand as if her brown leather monogrammed wallet would suddenly materialise out of thin air. "I don't seem to have any money. I could've sworn my wallet was there when I walked in..."

"Oh, no worries, darling," Nana said. "Your drink was paid for by that charming young man over there."

Surprised, Tinkerbell stopped patting her pockets and looked in the direction of where Nana was gesturing. Mr. Rude-and-Inconsiderate was halfway out the door when he seemed to realise two pairs of eyes were on him. He winked roguishly at Tinkerbell and mouthed the words "You're welcome" to her.

She would've been flattered by his gesture had she not seen her lost wallet – well, more stolen than lost, she corrected herself – peeking out of one of the pockets on his leather jacket.

[-]


	2. (took off faster than a green light go)

**a/n:**

today wasn't the best of days so i'm cheering myself up by writing about my faves. leave me some love xoxo

30 July 2016. Word Count: 620.

**"You're actually not what I thought you'd be like."**

* * *

**Holy Ground**

ii.

[-]

"Hey! _Hey!_ Rude stranger who stole my wallet - stop!"

People crowding the sidewalk stared at Tinkerbell and muttered comments not-so-quietly under their breath as she pushed through them and chased after her wallet-stealing thief. On a good day, she would've apologized and said 'excuse me' before barreling her way through, but today was not a good day. She gave them her best glare as she went by - are they all deaf? Why wasn't anyone helping her catch the guy? _Hello_, she's a damsel in distress! - and tried to lengthen her stride so she could catch up to the long-legged man. It's no use. Even with all of her crossfit and pilates sessions, her tiny legs were no match for the wallet-stealer.

But then, three blocks later where Broadway and West End merged, he halted.

Tinkerbell blinked. Then she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. That was too easy; he must have something up his sleeve. He turned his head slightly and watched her approach, a smirk on his lips.

"I hate you," she told him as soon as she's sure she's within earshot. She's wary about approaching him because strangers could _not_ be trusted under any circumstance - especially if it were under wallet-stealing circumstances - but Tinkerbell's need for her wallet overrode any concern she had about her safety. They're on a busy street, anyway, so there were bunches of witnesses about if something were to happen to her. Not that it would - Tinkerbell took martial arts classes when she was younger. She knew how to defend herself.

He laughed. "That's a big emotion for such a tiny thing like you."

Never in her life had Tinkerbell wanted to kick someone in the shins as much as she wanted to in that moment. "Give me my wallet back," she demanded. She reached out to snatch it from his jacket pocket but he shifted out of her way.

"Finder's keepers," her thief said with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Are you _kidding_ me?!" she exploded. "It's mine! You only 'found' it because you took it from me! Hand it over, you pirate!"

He held up his hands in peace. "Look, I don't mean you any harm. It's the holiday season. I even paid for your drink, you know?"

Her jaw dropped. "Using _my _wallet with _my _money! God, just give it back!"

"I will if you go out to dinner with me later."

Tinkerbell scowled. "What? No! You can't just blackmail someone into going on a date with you."

He shrugged. "Sure I can. But I guess you're out of luck, then." He gave her a crocodile smile filled with sharp teeth. "Your loss, doll. See you around campus." He made to walk away.

"Wait, come back! You go to the university, too?" She grabbed his arm as he brushed past her and tugged him back to her. Now that there was a semi-connection, she didn't feel as threatened by the wallet-stealer. Though, he could be lying about attending university...

"Engineering," he answered, anticipating that she was about to ask the number one question university students always get asked.

"You're absolutely crazy," Tinkerbell told him.

"No, I'm James. James Hook." He reached into his jacket pocket and gave back her wallet. "You know what, here you go. Don't worry about the date. You're actually not what I thought you'd be like."

She was too relieved to have her wallet back to be enraged by his last comment. She rapidly flipped through it. Everything was there. Tinkerbell's head hurt with how quickly he kept changing his mind. Questions upon questions buzzed about in her head but the one she blurted out was: "Why'd you do it?"

"Because I could," he said bluntly. "Later, doll."

[-]


End file.
